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URBANA, Ohio – Urbana fell short Thursday night against UVa-Wise as the visiting Cavaliers captured a 90-73 victory inside the Grimes Center.
UU drops to 5-18 overall and 3-16 against MEC opponents while Wise improved to 8-17 (5-14 MEC).
// LEADERS
Freshman
Datrey Long posted his second straight 20-point effort with 23 points Thursday night. Long, who scored all of his points in the second half, finished 8-of-11 shooting overall and went 4 of 7 from beyond the arc. He followed up last Saturday's career-high 28-point showing and raised his season average to 12.0 PPG.
In addition, junior
Ethan Snapp knocked down 5 of 6 three's and finished with 22 points (8-12 FGs). Snapp now qualifies for the NCAA Division II statistical rankings for three-point field-goal percentage, where he ranks second at 52.5 percent.
Senior
Malik Jacobs grabbed a team-high eight boards while junior
Darius Barksdale dished out a team-best four assists.
UVa-Wise had five players reach double figures in the scoring column, led by forward Eric Okenchi and guard Briggs Parris each with 18.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
After Wise went up 15 in the first half, Jacob converted a traditional three-point play to trim the deficit back down to nine, 30-21.
However, Wise responded defensively by locking down UU over the final 5:32 with a 12-0 run, pushing the Cavs lead up to 42-21 at the break. UU shot 29 percent in opening half and just 2 of 11 (18.2%) from beyond the arc.
The Blue Knights trailed by 20-plus points for the majority of the second half, despite shooting 57 percent.
Overall, the Cavs outshot the Blue Knights 56 percent to 45 percent, while scoring 25 points on 20 UU turnovers to take advantage of an uncharacteristic Blue Knight game on the offensive end.
UU's previous season-high mark for turnovers in a conference game was 19, which occurred in the conference opener at UVa-Wise back in November.
// UP NEXT
UU hosts Concord on Saturday afternoon with a 4 p.m. scheduled tipoff in the Grimes Center.
